¡Es falso!

Ok, today I have a story which you may enjoy.  Are you sitting comfortably? Then I´ll begin...

Yesterday I went to a coffee shop and bought a coffee for two dollars, I paid with a twenty and got eighteen change. Then I went to the intenet cafe and tried to pay for the use of the computer with the ten dollar note I had recieved as change. After some scratching the note and holding it up to the light the girl told me ¡Es falso!

It was too late to go back to the cafe and I didn´t want to pass it off to someone else so I thought I´d go back this morning. Went back at ten am and spoke in my (v bad) Spanish to the ladies there. One tried to help but the others were sceptical I had received it from them. I wasn´t fibbing!

The helpful one tried calling her boss to ask him what to do. She asked me to go back at twelve, I did. they said they hadn´t been able to speak to the boss and asked me to come back at three.

I duly went back at three. I can´t understand Spanish brilliantly but I am excellent at reading body language. It wasn´t good. Huddling in the back corner of the shop, waiting for someone else to take responsibility, were the three ladies. It didn´t look hopeful.

Obviously (and in fairness) someone had to take responsibility for the false ten dollar note and none of them wanted it docked from their wages....

El Jefe (the boss), they said, was coming.

Ok, I thought, if the boss is coming either I´m going to have a bit of a fight on my hands, or he´s going to be fairly decent about it. He may speak English or he may not. I prepared myself.

The door opened and in walked...

...da da daaaaaaaaaa.......

Pablo the guide..... Yes, he of dodgy eye-colour fame.
I wasn´t sure whether to:
a. Laugh
b. Sigh
c. Tell him he´d given me the best blogging material since someone found a coconut...

´Hello´ says Pablo the Guide as the huddled women scatter, indicating he is El Jefe.
´Hello´ says  Honey Eyes, calculating wildly and wondering whether to flutter her eyelashes (too easy), launch into the sorry tale (too aggressive), or smile (pffft). She ditches all three ideas and plumps for a look which reads: disappointed.


I can´t work out whether I am pleased (of course I got the money back) or disappointed (I´d rather have it on honesty and merit). It turns out that he is the boss of the world in these parts. Ok, not of the world but of the excursion shop, the cafe and the school (from what I can make out). I did wonder why he was wondering around the classrooms with a clipboard earlier this week, why he wore expensive clothes and how he could afford to be educated in the states.

So, here´s the plan: persuade Pablo the guide to marry me (I´m guessing that´ll be a sinch).
Live in Panama and perfect my Spanish (Definitely more complicated)....

......Ah pish, you know money never did it for me - maybe that´s where I´ve been going wrong all along? So Pablo escapes, unmolested...but boy, this man has made me laugh.

In the nicest possible way ;-)